If you are reading this, you are one of the best looking, kindest and smartest people in the world.

Scratch that.

… in the universe.

How does that make you feel?

According to a recent study, it should make you feel pretty darn good.

A team of researchers says it has discovered evidence that humans perform better when they receive compliments. According to the study, the brain of a person who hears nice things about themselves is stimulated in the same way as someone being given cash or other physical rewards.

Led by National Institute of Physiological Sciences professor Norihiro Sadato, the team of Japanese scientists believes their research could help improve performances in the workplace, the classroom and other settings.

During the study, 48 adults were asked to push keys on a keyboard in a particular sequence as quickly as possible within 30 seconds. They were placed in three groups. In one group, a participant was given compliments directly from an evaluator. In the second group, a participant would hear a fellow participant being praised. In the third group, a participant would plot his or her progress on a graph.

Participants were then asked the next day to perform the sequence. Participants in group one performed the best, suggesting those who are complimented after performing tasks are encouraged to continue to perform well.

“To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money,” Sadato said.

Those in the working world who haven’t received raises in the past few years might not agree with Sadato's research.

But the research, published in the Public Library of Science’s online site, PLOS ONE, (plosone.org) dovetails with Abraham Maslow’s 1943 hierarchy of needs theory. Maslow believed that everyone has fundamental needs. As basic needs such as food and water are met, he said, a person would begin focusing on less crucial needs, such as problem solving and fun. He also believed that self-esteem is a huge part of the puzzle. He argued that complimenting a person would raise their self-esteem and allow them to achieve more.

So maybe it’s time for some of us to try a little social experiment of our own. Compliment someone on the work they’re doing, the song they’ve performed, the meal they’ve cooked or whatever task they’ve just completed.